HOW to incorporate clinical expiriences into resume

Your post has been split into its own separate thread with the goal of amassing more replies. Good luck to you.

When I was applying for jobs as a new grad with no clinical experience I named the category "Experience" and then boldly put "Under the direct supervision of an instructor: 1)IV therapy 2)Administration of medications (including IV piggyback) blah blah I dont know if this helps but that was the only way I could think of to let the employer know my skills and clinical experiences.

A lot of people recommend NOT including all of your student clinical experiences on the front page of your resume. They don't add anything that the reader doesn't already know and only clutter up the page and hide things of importance. Just include a few summary statements that might include information such as the total number of clinical hours and/or any experience that is directly related to the particular job you are seeking. You would also want to be sure any experiences that were not "typical" of most nursing students -- experiences and/or classroom projects that would help you stand out from the other applicants.

A list of your clinical experiences that are common to most nursing students can then be attached to your resume as an additional page. That way, the employer has them available to see... but they don't clutter up your resume and hide those "special things" that help make you stand out from the crowd.

And of course, as others have suggested, be sure to clearly label school experiences as just that so that it doesn't look as though you are trying to mislead the reader.

Some people go into detail about each separate clinical experience. I couldn't remember what occurred in each semester or even where I was in some instances and the listing in the college catalog was useless. I was happy that my work history already consisted of healthcare experience before I even graduated.

What I did was under the education section, after lising my school and dates of attendence, I made a bullet point that said "Clinical rotations in Medical-Surgical, Postpartum, Community Health, Mental Health, and Home Healthcare/Hospice" I had a senior preceptorship where I was working under the supervision of my preceptor but more or less took care of a full load of patients on my own, so I did list that under my work expereince as a "job" but made sure to be clear that I was working as a SN under the supervision of a preceptor.

Since I didn't have any medical experience I listed the total number of clinical hours I completed while in school and the facilities/units that were specific to my chosen speciality of psych. I guess it can go either way but I figured it couldn't hurt to put it out there that I had done multiple rotations in psych. I got five interviews and four offers.

I checked with several sources when putting together my resume, and I did put all of my clinical experiences on it under the "Education" header as per a format that a nurse recruiter recommended.

The explanation she gave for why it would be beneficial to list them this way was that I graduated from a BSN program and the clinical curriculum differs (both what areas you go to and for how long) significantly from ADN programs and also between different BSN programs in our area. It's also relevant if you're applying for a job at a hospital where you had a rotation, or in a specialty where you had a clinical experience other students might not have.

When I ran it by other students, professors, staff nurses, a couple nurse managers, and another nurse recruiter, I got only good feedback about it.

Oh, and for what it's worth... I only applied to one position, my dream job, and got it. Very fortunate!

It looked like this:

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OBJECTIVE: Write your objective here

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science in Nursing, May 2009
University, City, CA

Clinical sites included:
·Community Health, ABC County Public Health Agency, January to April 2009, 140 hours
·Pediatrics, DEF Medical Center, November to December 2008, 140 hours
·Maternity, GHI Medical Center - JKL Campus, October to November 2008, 140 hours
·Critical Care, MNO Medical Center - PQR Campus, September to October 2008, 140 hours
·Adult Medical/Surgical, DEF Medical Center, January to April 2008, 240 hours
·Mental Health, STU Behavioral Health Center, September to December 2007, 140 hours

Second Associates Degree, May 2007
College, City, CA

First Associates Degree, May 2005
College, City, CA

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(The other headings I used were "LICENSURE / CERTIFICATIONS" where I listed my EMT-I, ACLS, BLS, "EXPERIENCE" where I listed work experience and my senior preceptorship, and "LEADERSHIP / ACTIVITIES / HONORS")